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Whismur Line/RSE
Whismur is a guaranteed encounter in Rusturf Tunnel, in all three games. It can also be found on Route 116 and in Victory Road, where Loudred is also present. A pre-first gym Pokémon with two evolutionary stages, a very good movepool and a total BST that almost hovers around 500 when fully evolved. Sounds familiar? Exploud is almost comparable to Pokémon of the likes of Nidoqueen and Nidoking from a nuzlocke standpoint, offering both early availability and versatility to the player. One of its pros is also that of being Normal-typed, meaning it will only ever have one weakness to account for; however, this is sadly compensated by its not quite optimal stat spread, with both of its defenses as well as its Speed being low. Its base HP are fairly high, but due to its relatively low defenses Exploud will not be tanking many hits, and not being able to outspeed most enemies does not help its cause at all. The biggest handicap, though, is the lateness of its evolution: while Loudred comes early enough to make Whismur still useful in the early to mid-game, the Exploud status comes late enough that Loudred will be struggling to hold its own for a while before it can finally evolve again. In short: definitely a good teammate, one that can cover a good few roles in several squads, but unlike the Nidos - and other Pokémon of their sort - it has its ups and downs. Important Matchups - Emerald = * Gym #1 - Roxanne (Rustboro City, Rock-type): Whismur gets 3-4HKOed by the two Geodude and 3HKOed by Nosepass, and would require far too many Howl turns to match up with their base damage. It should not be used in this gym. * Rival (Rustboro City, optional): Whismur can 3HKO Lotad, Slugma or Wingull with Pound, providing Slugma does not burn it with Flame Body. It can also win the matchup against Treecko by 4HKOing, if it still is in high health by the time Treecko comes out. Torkoal, Torchic and Mudkip have moves that are too strong for Whismur to take, and even its Uproar would do it no favours. * Gym #2 - Brawly (Dewford Town, Fighting-type): No. Whismur would get destroyed by Brawly's Pokémon. Only Meditite can be defeated by a Whismur on Shift mode, as it only knows Focus Punch as a damaging move, but Whismur would need to switch in without Meditite doing anything in order to avoid an unceremonious death. * Rival (Route 110): Loudred can 2-3HKO Wingull, 3HKO Slugma and 3-4HKO Lombre with Pound; the move also 4HKOs Grovyle. Loudred should not fight Combusken or Marshtomp; the starters simply outpower it. * Wally (Mauville City): Two Pounds and Ralts is history. * Gym #3 - Wattson (Mauville City, Electric-type): Flamethrower is a 2HKO against Voltorb, but Voltorb inflicts up to about 80% with a non-critical Selfdestruct; Loudred will only beat it if Voltorb does not use Selfdestruct on the second turn. Electrike is much safer, as Loudred can score a simple 2HKO against it. Magneton can cleanly 2HKO Loudred with Shock Wave, and Manectric averagely 3HKOs; Loudred cannot win against either of them. * Tabitha (Mt. Chimney): Strength is a 1-2HKO against Poochyena and 2HKO against Numel. Loudred easily wins. * Maxie (Mt. Chimney): Loudred can 3-4HKO Mightyena with either Ice Beam or Flamethrower; it will not 3HKO with Strength unless Intimidate is negated first, which would require an additional turn Loudred cannot afford to waste, since Mightyena's Bite is a 4HKO. A flinch will, in fact, turn the matchup in Mightyena's favour, unless Loudred is healed. Ice Beam scores an easy OHKO against Zubat. Loudred should not tempt fate against Camerupt, which can 2HKO with two perfectly average Magnitude rolls or even OHKO with a Magnitude 10. * Gym #4 - Flannery (Lavaridge Town, Fire-type): Return has a small chance of OHKOing Numel, which cannot kill even with Overheat. However, if a Pokémon on the team can one-shot Numel, it should be used instead; leaving Loudred on the battlefield will give Flannery an opportunity to set up Sunny Day, which makes her Camerupt and Torkoal major threats. Loudred cannot face them whatsoever, as Camerupt can take even two Returns and KO Loudred back, and a high roll with Torkoal's Overheat will kill even without the sun. Slugma can be OHKOed with Return, instead. * Gym #5 - Norman (Petalburg City, Normal-type): Loudred can 2HKO Spinda with Return if it manages to break through the likely Teeter Dance confusion, and then 3HKO Vigoroth with the same move. It should not fight Linoone or Slaking; the former is not a certain 2HKO, and will significantly endanger the whole team if it survives a hit after using Belly Drum, whereas the latter is simply too strong for Loudred. * Shelly (Weather Institute): Carvanha is OHKOed by Return. Mightyena is only a 3HKO after Intimidate, but a 2HKO otherwise; Loudred does, however, need to be wary of its Swagger. * Rival (Route 119): Return easily 2HKOs Slugma, Lombre and Grovyle; Pelipper and Marshtomp can be 3HKOed without risks, as well, providing Loudred is kept healthy to ward off their Wing Attacks and Mud Shots respectively. Combusken still gets the best of Loudred with Double Kick, however. * Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): Swablu and Tropius are easy Ice Beam 3HKOs. Pelipper can be 3HKOed with Return, and Skarmory is 2HKOed with Flamethrower. If Loudred is above two thirds of its health by the time Altaria comes out, it can 2HKO it with Ice Beam, after taking two Aerial Aces or a single one after a Dragon Dance. * Rival (Lilycove City): Ice Beam 1-2HKOs Tropius easily. Return 1-2HKOs Slugma, 2-3HKOs Ludicolo, and 3HKOs Pelipper, as well as 2HKOing Grovyle; none of them represent a threat for Loudred. Marshtomp is a risk-free 3HKO, but Combusken's Double Kick must be avoided. * Tabitha (Jagged Pass Hideout): Return OHKOs Numel and Zubat and also 2HKOs Camerupt, which has no STAB moves and is thus not threatening. Mightyena is averagely 2HKOed by Flamethrower or Ice Beam after the Intimidate nerf, which brings Return to 3HKO range. Intimidate also downpowers Return against Camerupt, which becomes a 3HKO if Loudred is not switched out and back in. * Maxie (Jagged Pass Hideout): Mightyena is doubly annoying, cutting Loudred's Attack with Intimidate and endangering it in low health with Swagger. It can be 3HKOed, though, or 2HKOed if Intimidate is nullified. Loudred should not fight against Crobat or Camerupt, as they both defeat it much faster than it can defeat them. If Exploud already have a fully evolved Exploud, instead, it can Ice Beam Crobat into oblivion in two hits, and Return from an unnerfed Attack will also 2HKO Camerupt, whose Earthquake is only a 2-3HKO. * Matt (Lilycove Hideout): Mightyena presents the usual Intimidate and Swagger issues for an unevolved Loudred, but can be taken down in up to three hits by playing carefully, especially as it has no directly damaging moves; Exploud will likely outspeed, and thus not need to worry about it. Golbat is simply 2HKOed by Ice Beam. * Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): Exploud can lead against Claydol and Xatu, but needs support to work properly, as its Speed is low. Both Shadow Ball and Ice Beam score a 2HKO against Xatu and a 3HKO against Claydol; Exploud's best option is that of targeting Xatu first, with Shadow Ball, because neither Xatu's Calm Mind nor Claydol's Light Screen can reduce Shadow Ball damage, and neither knows a move that can increase their Defense. Exploud can take a +1 Psychic from Xatu, as well, so the bird is not a problem for it. After Xatu is down, if Claydol is still standing, which Pokémon should be hit first depends on which of the aces comes out, and whether or not Exploud's battle partner is particularly vulnerable to Claydol's AncientPower or Earthquake. Exploud can 2HKO Lunatone and averagely 3HKO Solrock with Shadow Ball; both of them only 3HKO back with Psychic. It is advised that Lunatone be targeted first, as it knows Calm Mind, and Solrock does not. Exploud's battle partner should ideally help with this task, unless majorly threatened by Solrock's SolarBeam or Flamethrower. * Maxie and Tabitha (Mossdeep Space Center, tag battle with Steven): Leading with Exploud is disadvantageous, as Intimidate greatly reduces its damage output with Return. Without any Attack nerf in effect, Exploud easily 2HKOs both Maxie's Mightyena and Tabitha's Camerupt, but they both become 3HKOs otherwise. Exploud should focus on defeating Tabitha's Pokémon first; Maxie's are stronger and more threatening, so they should preferably be left alone on the battlefield. Tabitha's Golbat can be 2HKOed with Ice Beam, but his Mightyena can only be 2HKOed with Return, and only if Exploud negates the Intimidate once again. Maxie's Crobat is also averagely 2HKOed with Ice Beam, and should be faced alone, as its Mean Look and Confuse Ray can prove deadly to a slow Pokémon like Exploud. Fighting against Maxie's Camerupt is a gamble, as both Exploud's Return and Camerupt's Earthquake hover around the 2-3HKO range; Exploud may or may not get the short end of the stick, and should leave the ace to a teammate that can handle it more safely, if the option is available. * Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Sharpedo is 1-2HKOed by Return. It also scores a 2HKO against Mightyena without Intimidate, but a 3HKO if Intimidate is in effect. Mightyena still knows Swagger, something Exploud should be wary of if its health is low. * Archie (Seafloor Cavern): Mightyena presents the usual Intimidate and Swagger issues: it can only be 3HKOed if Intimidate is not negated, but on the other hand, Swagger will put Exploud in danger, especially if its health is low; play carefully. Crobat is 2HKOed by Ice Beam. Sharpedo is an easy Return 2HKO. * Gym #8 - Juan (Sootopolis City, Water-type): Although Luvdisc could theoretically be exploited to set up Howls, Exploud may be outsped by it and threatened by Sweet Kiss, which will cause a much greater damage than usual if Exploud's Attack is boosted. Exploud should simply 2HKO it with Return instead, and do the same with Sealeo and Crawdaunt. Whiscash and Kingdra are both 3HKOs, but Whiscash also only 3HKOs and is slower than Exploud, whereas Kingdra's Ice Beam is a mere 3HKO. Kingdra has Double Team, however, which will deplete Exploud's HP and PP further. Exploud cannot solo this fight on its own devices, but it can manage to do so if healed often enough. * Wally (Victory Road): Ice Beam 1-2HKOs Altaria, whereas Return 2HKOs Delcatty, Roselia and Gardevoir. Magneton is 2HKOed by Flamethrower. None of Wally's Pokémon can do better than a 3HKO, either. * Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): Ice Beam or Flamethrower will 1-2HKO Mightyena, Shiftry and Cacturne. Before attacking Cacturne, a switch is advised, in order to negate Mightyena's Intimidate; this will allow Exploud to then 2HKO Crawdaunt and Absol with Return. * Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): Exploud's immunity to Ghost moves automatically eliminates the main threat of this team. Shadow Ball 2HKOs all of Phoebe's Pokémon minus Sableye, which can be 2HKOed with either Ice Beam or Flamethrower. At most, Exploud will need some healing, particularly from status conditions, as Phoebe's Banette are status users. * Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Return 2HKOs both Sealeo, and Flamethrower 2HKOs both Glalie; however, the level 52 Glalie should not be fought, as it can outspeed Exploud and its Explosion is almost guaranteed to kill. Walrein can be 3HKOed with Return, but it has a small chance of 2HKOing with Blizzard, thus Exploud should leave it to a teammate if there is a safer way to take it down. * Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): Ice Beam is near-guaranteed to one-shot Shelgon and Altaria, and guaranteed to one-shot Flygon and Salamence. Exploud needs to be at least at half of its health before fighting Salamence, however, as its Dragon Claw is relatively strong. Exploud should avoid fighting Kingdra if possible; although Return is an average 3HKO, Kingdra's Surf also is, and its Double Team can get in the way of Exploud's sweeping fest. * Champion Wallace (Ever Grande City, Water-type): Return 3HKOs Wailord and, since Exploud is faster, its Water Spout is unlikely to ever hit at full power. Tentacruel is 2HKOed by Return, as well, but its Hydro Pump is a 3HKO close to a 2HKO; Exploud needs to be at full health to win the fight, and critical hits need not occur. Exploud is also highly likely to 2HKO Ludicolo with Return, if it manages to get past its Double Team and Giga Drain shenanigans. Exploud and Whiscash both 3HKO each other with Return and Earthquake respectively, so Exploud can beat it, but only if kept healed. Neither Gyarados nor Milotic should be Exploud's opponent, as they both easily overpower it. * Post-Game: Exploud's slowness and not excellent bulk continue to do it no favours, but it remains workable throughout the game. }} Moves Whismur starts with Pound and Uproar. Tempting as the latter can be, due to the higher base power, its usage should be limited until Whismur has caught up training with the other members, as Uproar will lock it into battle for a few turns, leaving it vulnerable to potential critical hits. It gets Astonish at level 11, which is not too bad, but will probably not be used much, as the Ghost-types come later in the game, at which point such a low base power move will already be useless. At level 15 comes Howl, which Exploud may want to use if Exploudr Whismur needs a battle boost. After evolving into Loudred, it will learn Supersonic at level 23, though the low accuracy of the move makes it a not so good option. Stomp comes at level 29, though at this point, Loudred will already have access to the much better Strength; the flinch rate of Stomp is not a bonus either, because Loudred will often be too slow to hit first. At level 37 comes Screech; do not take it, Howl is better for sets based on stat boosts. Right after the second evolution, Exploud learns Hyper Beam, at level 40. This move is not bad, but the recharge turn is not worth it unless used to finish off a Pokémon while playing in Shift mode; this way, the recharge turn can be skipped by switching out. At level 45 comes the useless Roar, and at 55 comes Rest, which is not advised unless a healing limitation is included in the nuzlocke ruleset. An Exploud running Rest should consider learning Sleep Talk as well, which comes at the same level. Lastly, if Exploud ever gets that far, it will learn Hyper Voice at level 63. However, Return is more powerful. Exploud has great coverage all around, both on the physical and the special side. It can get an upgrade to the poor Pound and Uproar as early as after Wattson, with the HM for Strength. Later on, Return becomes available, and is a must have for most Exploud, if not all. Physically oriented Exploud will generally want Shadow Ball alongside the obvious Normal STAB; although Ghost and Fighting, when combined, grant near-perfect coverage, Brick Break is not powerful enough to even outpower an unresisted STAB Return, so Exploud will not be using it much. Earthquake is also a good option that guarantees a very good base power. On the special side, interestingly, Exploud has access to Ice Beam and Flamethrower as well as their more powerful alternatives, Blizzard and Fire Blast, but it does not learn Thunderbolt or Thunder. However, it does get Shock Wave for any Electric coverage needs. Mixed sets can run Overheat instead, which is stronger than Flamethrower by far, providing that no other special move is present; if Exploud is running Ice Beam, then Flamethrower will work best. Recommended moveset: Return, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, Flamethrower / Earthquake Recommended Teammates * Psychic- or Ghost-types: Fighting-types have two main types that counter them; Psychics are most common, but Ghost-types can do as well, since Fighting Pokémon do not tend to get good Dark coverage in this generation. Although this weakness is fairly virtual after Brawly, good Psychic-types can help in a number of situations throughout the game. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Gardevoir, Alakazam, Medicham, Grumpig, Claydol, Starmie, Dusclops, Xatu * Physical tanks: Exploud generally struggles more against physical hitters than special ones, despite its defensive stats being perfectly even. This is partly due to its only weakness being physical. For this reason, it is recommended to have a physically sturdy teammate alongside Exploud. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Swampert, Swalot, Torkoal, Weezing, Sandslash, Skarmory, Whiscash, Donphan * Special tanks: Though less glaring than other deficits Exploud has, its Special Defense is alright, but not very good. Strong special sweepers will generally have the upper hand over Exploud, thus even if not strictly necessary, having a special wall can help. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Swampert, Ludicolo, Gardevoir, Gyarados, Tentacruel, Swalot, Muk, Grumpig, Altaria, Whiscash, Claydol, Milotic * Fast hitters: In a region with the average Speed sitting in the 70s range, Exploud is just slow enough to be outsped most of the time, not considering the lateness of its evolution (and thus Loudred's even greater slowness). Not only that; confusion is hard for Exploud to handle, because its Attack is good and its Defense is fairly bad. A fast sweeper is a necessary supplement. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Sceptile, Alakazam, Crobat, Manectric, Electrode, Starmie Other Whismur's stats Loudred's stats Exploud's stats * What Nature do I want? For a mixed attacker like Exploud, lowering either offensive stat is not optimal. The best natures are probably the ones that lower Speed, as it can afford to hit second. Brave and Quiet work well, but the defensive boost given by Relaxed and Sassy is not bad either. Exploud can also work with natures that boost one offensive stat and decrease a defensive one, but it will be somewhat hindered in about half of its matchups as a result. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Whismur should be evolved into Loudred by Wattson, and then into Exploud before Tate and Liza. Since the evolution does not come quite soon, and it needs all the bulk it can get, do not delay either evolution. * How good is the Whismur line in a Nuzlocke? Fairly versatile. It has its uses and hits for good damage on both sides, making it viable in almost any team. However, its slowness and substantial lack of bulk - only compensated by having just one, somewhat uncommon weakness - makes it hard to train in a number of stages in the game, and its survival can be threatened in several fights. Once Exploud is fully evolved, killing it is much more difficult; nevertheless, it will take almost the whole game to get there. * Weaknesses: Fighting * Resistances: None * Immunities: Ghost * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Ice, Grass, Fire, Water, Bug, Steel, Electric, Psychic, Dragon, Dark Category:Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses